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The debate around labour issues reached a boiling point in Ontario this week, with the Doug Ford government scrapping a pile of labour-friendly workplace rules and freezing the minimum wage. Many business owners breathed a sign of relief, while labour advocates and some workers voiced anger about the moves. We’ve been covering these issues regularly over the last two years at The Globe, starting during the Ontario Changing Workplaces Review.
The government’s proposed changes won’t have a problem passing the legislature, but that doesn’t mean the battle is over. Labour advocates are vowing to keep on fighting, and a small minority are resorting to drastic actions to show their frustration. Read reporter Brenda Bouw’s story below and watch globeandmail.com/smallbusiness for further developments. If you have fresh angles, reach out at sefron@globeandmail.com. -Sarah Efron, Globe and Mail Small Business Editor
Ontario to freeze minimum wage, eliminate mandatory paid sick days
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government says it plans to repeal chunks of the previous government’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act amid pushback from business owners who argued many of the changes were too costly, forcing them to raise prices and cut staff.
Premier Doug Ford was elected last spring on an “open for business” platform that included a promise to freeze the minimum wage at $14 an hour instead of hiking it as planned to $15. On Tuesday, his government confirmed the freeze and followed up with a recently promised plan to scrap or amend other changes in the legislation, known as Bill 148. Story
Steel, aluminum tariffs driving up costs for expanding cannabis companies
The rush to build and expand cannabis production facilities for the newly legal market means some companies are absorbing extra costs for steel and aluminum due in part to American tariffs. The tariffs – and the threat of them – have increased prices on steel and aluminum in Canada for months now. And with steel, a significant component in most custom-constructed cannabis facilities, now also changing from day to day in price, it’s left some marijuana growers having to eat the extra cost in order to meet what’s expected to be huge demand in the coming months. Story
Higher CPP premiums will pinch profits, small businesses fear
Small business owners are starting to crunch the numbers to take into account higher Canada Pension Plan (CPP) premiums that will be phased in starting in 2019 – increases that could force them to cut hours and delay hiring as well as other investments needed to grow their companies. While there have been some tax and premium cuts that may help businesses save money, owners say they’re not nearly enough to cover rising CPP and other costs. Story
Barkeep, watch the over-pour: Apps can track liquor inventory, sales and theft
You can use smartphone apps to streamline everything from ordering a taxi to controlling personal finance, so the head of bar services at the Thompson Hotel in Toronto wondered whether he could find one to manage his inventory of liquor. After a few months of using a Canadian-made app called Wisk, the technology has already saved the hotel thousands of dollars by cutting down on labour costs and, by using software that predicts trends in the liquor market, it has optimized buying. Story
This shop boasts a skilled sales team that wears many hats
It can be a struggle for small and medium-sized businesses to find good sales help, so tip your hat to Kevin Neufeld – and his shop may sell you a new one. “It is a challenge to find good people, especially in a small town,” says Mr. Neufeld, founder and owner of the BeauChapeau hat shop on the main street of this history-rich tourist town of 18,000. Story
How USMCA will affect this Canadian food truck maker
Otto Kemerle may not make the food himself, but his company is part of the great North American food chain. His Winnipeg company, Food Trucks International, manufactures food-producing vehicles. He and his staff of 20 ship about 10 trucks to the United States every year. Story
Apps help those with dementia to record, recall and bring back the pleasure of reading
When Marilyn Thompson stopped toting around her tattered leather Bible and the dog-eared romance novels no longer appeared on her night table, at first her family thought the 73-year-old with dementia had lost her capacity to read. Then one day over toast and coffee with the local newspaper spread across the breakfast table at Ms. Thompson’s Hamilton home, she surprised her husband Raymond and her granddaughter Rachel Thompson. Story
GST and HST basics – how to do right by the CRA and your business
Most entrepreneurs eventually reach a point where they need to start charging the goods and services tax (GST) or the harmonized sales tax (HST). But which one? And when should they begin? Here are a few basics on collecting money for the government. Story
FreshSpoke app closes the gap between food producers and food buyers
Marcia Woods grew up in a fourth-generation farming family in Oxford County, Ont. Like many others of her generation, she watched her family’s small farm struggle as large-scale food production became the norm. Left with little other choice, her family sold their farm in the 1970s to open a small general store in Kintore, Ont., near Woodstock – but they eventually closed that, too, as supermarkets began dominating the market. Watching her family sell both their farm and their store left Ms. Woods with a keen interest in agricultural food production and distribution. Story
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Growers fear fingerprinting will worsen farm-labour shortage
Canadian fruit and vegetable growers fear that a new policy requiring foreign workers to provide their fingerprints to immigration officials will only worsen existing labour shortages. “Without (seasonal workers), we can’t operate, and it is true for almost all horticulture operations,” Elizabeth Connery, a fruit and vegetable farmer from Manitoba, recently told the House agriculture committee. Story
NDP calls on Liberals to further reduce credit card fees paid by small business
The federal New Democrats are calling on the Liberal government to lower and cap the fees credit card companies collect from small businesses. Last summer, Ottawa announced voluntary, five-year deals with Visa and MasterCard to trim the fees to an average annual effective rate of 1.4 per cent — down from 1.5 per cent — and narrow the gap between the highest and lowest rates they charge retailers. Story
Sarah Efron